Lison DOCG – In the Shadow of the Lion You may never have heard of Lison DOCG, as despite its lofty status, there are only 44 hectares of vineyards and around 180,000 bottles made each year. Yet the excellent wine quality fully deserves such an appellation, which even contains a Classico subzone. There is a long history of winemaking here, …
Poggio Valente by Fattoria Le Pupille
Poggio Valente by Fattoria Le Pupille Poggio Valente is one of those rare wines where just one glass made me want to visit Fattoria Le Pupille to find out more. So, some years ago I did, and I’ve followed its development from afar ever since. Given this, I can’t quite understand how I’ve not previously written about it. That’s especially …
Kotsifali, an old red grape variety from Lyrarakis in Crete
Kotsifali, an old red grape variety from Lyrarakis in Crete Crete is by far the largest Greek Island, measuring roughly 260 km from west to east and 60 km north to south. It has no shortage of ancient native white and red grape varieties. One of those reds is the subject of this article, known as Kotsifali. Like the other …
Verdeca – Time for a Renaissance
Verdeca – Time for a Renaissance Once upon a time, Verdeca was widely planted in Puglia, its homeland. If Puglia is the boot of Italy, then we are far down at its heel. Verdeca is an autochthonous white grape variety that grows mainly in the central provinces of Bari and Taranto but also further south in Brindisi and Lecce1. Unfortunately, …
Cadgal and Moscato d’Asti DOCG
Cadgal and Moscato d’Asti DOCG Moscato d’Asti DOCG covers a vast area of some 10,000 ha in Piemonte, spreading across the historic regions of Langhe, Monferrato and Roero. It produces and sells about 36 million bottles yearly, 90% of which are exports. That’s a lot of wine, yet it remains less well-known in the UK, dwarfed by the ubiquitous Prosecco1. …
Rossese Bianco from Josetta Saffirio is WOTY 2024
Rossese Bianco from Josetta Saffirio is WOTY 2024 Wine Alchemy’s Wine of the Year (WOTY) 2024 goes to Sara Vezza in Piemonte, Italy. This is for the rare white wine Josetta Saffirio, Rossese Bianco, Langhe DOC, 2022. As is usual, the Wine Alchemy WOTY is inspirational. Exceptional taste is a given. But, in addition, the winning wine must be genuinely …
Two More Bright Stars From Tenuta Stella
Two More Bright Stars From Tenuta Stella I wrote an article on Tenuta Stella in the Collio Gorizia in June 2024. This featured their excellent Malvasia Istriana wine. You can read about that here. I also promised a further article about two other wines from this excellent organic winery at that time. These are equally bright stars, namely their Friulano …
Qvevri Revolution: Joško Gravner, Part 2
Qvevri Revolution: Joško Gravner, Part 2 In Part 2 of the article on Joško Gravner, we will delve into his truly unique and revolutionary use of Qvevri. This technique wasn’t seen beyond Georgia until he adopted it in Italy. In Part 1 of this article (Back to the Future), we witnessed Joško Gravner’s remarkable resilience and innovation. After losing an …
Tenuta Stella – a Bright Star in the Collio Heavens
Tenuta Stella – a Bright Star in the Collio Heavens Tenuta Stella is a young, certified organic Italian winery. It’s in the far northeast of Italy, in the crescent-shaped Collio DOC at Dolegna. Dolegna is one of the five unofficial subzones in the Collio DOC, being closest to the Alps and featuring some of the highest elevations. It also has …
Coffele Castel Cerino Soave Classico
Coffele Castel Cerino Soave Classico DOC, Veneto, Italy. Soave is a famous Italian white wine region. In the heart of the Classico zone, the town of Soave lends it its name. Here, a magnificent walled fortress dominates the landscape. From its swallow-tailed vantage points, you can see far and wide. It seems besieged by rolling limestone and volcanic hills. On …